Prep soccer: Forest Grove doing whatever it takes to win in playoffs

Members of the Forest Grove boys soccer team celebrate Marcos Campuzano's (bottom) second-half goal in Saturday's 2-1 victory over McKay in a first-round game of the Class 6A state playoffs at Forest Grove High School.Dan Itel / Forest Grove Leader

Reggie Lopez-Orosco is no stranger to scoring goals.

The Forest Grove forward/midfielder has a team-leading 13 on the season. But in the Vikings' first-round game of the Class 6A state playoffs Saturday against McKay of Salem, Lopez-Orosco was the one actually in the goal.

That's right, Forest Grove's leading scorer moved from his normal attacking position to goalkeeper for the team's first playoff game, a sacrifice with normal starter, sophomore Ricardo Torres Vasquez, recovering from an injury.

And the move paid off, as Lopez-Orosco preserved a 2-1 victory in the final minutes with a diving save on a header shot by McKay's Damian Ibarra Ortez that was destined for the back of the net.

"I just want to help out my team and help us go as far we can," Lopez-Orosco said.

With the victory, Forest Grove (11-4-1), the fifth-place team from the Pacific Conference, advances to the second round of the state playoffs for the first time since 2008. The Vikings played host to Aloha (4-11-1), the sixth-place team from the Metro League, on Tuesday (late for Leader publication).

It is the team's selflessness, exemplified by Lopez-Orosco, who has played just two separate halves at the position this year, that has put Forest Grove in position for success all season long.

"I don't have selfish guys on this team," head coach Angelo Simonetti said. "Can you imagine, a team's top scorer playing goalie? But he did, and he saved us many, many times."

Forest Grove's postseason success comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering the team's struggles during the conference season. For the first three weeks of October, the Vikings won just once in six games. But Simonetti, who said a virus was making its way through the team contributed to their struggles, knew the Vikings' 7-0 preseason record wasn't a fluke.

Forest Grove beat Sprague 4-0 in a 6A play-in game Oct. 30 to qualify for the playoffs, a game that featured three goals by Lopez-Orosco.

"That's the beauty of this team," Simonetti said. "We have so many players who are willing to do whatever it takes."

Against McKay (8-3-4), the second-place team from the Central Valley Conference, goals by junior midfielder Omar Lopez and senior midfielder Marcos Campuzano in the first and second halves, respectively, staked the Vikings to a 2-0 lead.

"It's so big for us," Lopez said. "I felt like we had to get this win. With the season we've had, we just had to make it to the second round."

A goal by McKay senior Alejandro Palafox with five minutes left in the game added some suspense to the final minutes. But as McKay continued to attack, Lopez-Orosco made his game-preserving save with three minutes left. As McKay's Ortez took a header shot on a cross from a Rodolfo Quirino free kick on the right wing, Lopez-Orosco made a reaction dive to his left to knock the shot away.

"It felt great," he said. "The crowd cheering for me, it felt great. And I just want to continue playing like that. It was a reaction, a 50-50 chance, so I just had to risk it."